The weather is finally starting to turn cool (though you wouldn't have known it last weekend) and that means planting time! We went to the farmer's market in Raleigh on Saturday and had a great time. I chatted with a couple of my favorite plant vendors and bought lots of things. Let's see, two yarrows, a bright orange echinacea -- is echinacea the perfect perennial? Cute, easy to grow, never needs watering, birds love it -- a fall blooming daisy with interesting foliage, another blueberry, a big Mexican sage with fuzzy purple and white flowers, and a "milk and wine" crinum lily. I'm most excited about the crinum lily. They look like amaryllis but they're hardy here, and they're supposed to have a wonderful scent. I saw crinum lilies at Plants Delight a week ago, but they were so expensive, and I wanted to research them before I bought one. Then I saw them at Bramble Woods on Saturday. They were half the price, and the Bramble Woods guy told me they had all been propagated from the crinum lilies in his grandmother's garden. Aww! That is why I love the growers at the farmer's market.
We also bought peaches. It was probably too late & the quality wasn't what it had been a month ago. I ate part of one and it was kind of mealy & not sweet. But they were great in a cobbler. Last peach cobbler this year I guess. I guess I'll have to satisfy my sweet tooth with apple pie and pumpkin bread instead.
I had also planned to get a fig tree at the farmer's market, but during the week a friend offered to give me a cutting from hers. She said it has really pretty leaves, is a heavy producer, and easy to grow from cuttings. Yay!
On Saturday afternoon I got almost everything planted. Everything except the blueberry and the Mexican sage, both of which I need to prepare a bed for. And I moved a few things we planted last year, which turned out not to have been in the right spot. And also mowed the lawn. I wish I could have gotten more done, but the heat did me in. I can't wait for it to cool down for real. Then I can start on the heavy-duty projects we have planned for this fall/winter.
Fig tree. Way cool.
Did you hear The Splendid Table this Sunday? They talked about figs. Yum.
Folks,
I have a fig tree and I want to use some cuttings from it. I would like to know the time to cut some branch endings and when to stick them in the ground. Tomorrow will be Feb. 1th. I live in Cypress, Southern California near Disneyland. Your help will be most appreciated.
Frank Monterosso
Monfin@aol.com
Hi Frank, our climates are so different -- I'm in North Carolina -- that I have no idea what would work in your area. Have you tried the GardenWeb forums? They have a forum just for propagation/cuttings that might be just what you need. They also have regional forums and I'm sure there's one for So.Cal.